Tension issues!! I just got my Brother 1034d serger last week. It worked well from the start, but slowly started to make uneven stitches and now it's out of control. It started when my lower looper broke and I have since rethreaded it a dozen times (at least!), totally but to no avail. I have adjusted the tension in all kinds of ways. I have exhausted all of the possibilities in my manual. The repair man says he thinks it may need to be adjusted but I have a time sensitive project I was hoping to finish today! I have also changed the needles but that didn't help either.

Hi, I ran into this problem on a Brother Serger and if your machine is set-up for four thread overlock, this may help. Set all the tension control knobs to"3". The overlock may seem loose but see if the skipped stitches gets better or worse. Remember that the loopers are just that, they work best when the thread is not pulled tight. I found that if I took the looper tensions back up gradually, I got a pretty nice overlock at about "5" without skipped stiches.

First re-thread the machine starting with the upper looper(3), then lower looper(4), then the needles(2,1). If that doesn't fix it, it may be a matter of loosening the needle tension. Lastly slowly turn the handwheel and see where the loopers cross. The upper looper should come in just behind the scarf of the lower looper without any contact on the forward motion. Otherwise Your needlebar height could be off. Timing a serger is a very precise process and making adjustments could throw it out even further.

Usually it's because the machine is not threaded correctly. Consult your owner's manual. Remove ALL the thread and start over from the beginning. Make sure to RAISE the presser foot before threading. Thread each thread in the proper order (usually upper looper first, lower looper second with the thread tail draped over the top of the upper looper as the last step...), then thread the needles. Tug the threads to make sure they are each seated in the tension disk. Check that you are not missing any steps in any of the threading. It would probably help to use different colors in each one so you can tell which thread is causing a problem. If thread is breaking, check to make sure any of the threads are not wrapped around the spool pin or the thread tree.

If any thread breaks, it is good practice to remove all the threads and rethread everything from the beginning. It will save you a lot of frustration in the end.

To start off, set all the tensions to the halfway point. This is the standard factory setting for basic overlocking.

Troubleshooting:
If the left needle thread is breaking at the needle, try a new needle and make sure it is inserted correctly and all the way up. Give the thread a tug and see if it pulls through the tension disk. Could be looped around something or the tension disk is not working properly--piece of thread, lint, gunky, or defective/broken.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ohtf7H_gyc

http://www.makeithandmade.com/2012/08/threading-your-serger-or-overlocker.html

http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/sewingclasses/board.pl?t=50864

http://community.babycenter.com/post/a42582709/serger_thread_keeps_breaking_-_help

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1067745/

http://su-sews-so-so.blogspot.com/2012/01/threading-brother-1034d-overlocker.html


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you might check your upper and lower knives. If they have a chip out of them or are dull some material just will not feed

Try to adjust the bobbin..

Can you wind the lower cutting blade to the right to cut less fabric and therefore fill out the stitching? On most sergers the lower blade position can be adjusted sometimes with a little knob or dial. You need to raise the top blade out of the way first, usually you put pressure onto it to release the spring holding it up against the lower blade, then swing it up to do this. Then wind the adjustment on the lower blade and move it to the right to cut less fabric then test serge. Your manual should give you more specific information on this and should be your first 'go to".

I would adjust my looper tensions to suit the fabric and width of the stitch I'm trying to achieve so yes, the settings you've been given are average tensions but its okay to vary these too. From left to right, I'd set 4, 4, 4, 4 and test serge again and see if this pulls the looper threads in against the fabric if moving the blade hasn't tightened up the stitching.

Sergers are more variable than a straight stitch sewing machine so its okay to move tension knobs a bit, just turn each a half number each time you adjust, then test serge and look at the stitch formation. Your needles tension should be fine at 4, leave them alone.

I'd suggest if you can find one, go to a "Getting to know your serger" type class as there is lots of techniques such as seaming on a curve, turning right angles, both inside and outside and making rolled hem edges that are very helpful serger skills to learn along with making adjustments and troubleshooting. Or go to you-tube and search some of these techniques for videos. Also www.sewing.about.com is a great sewing resource and Debbie has pages on sergers/overlockers here too.

When I'm starting a new dressmaking project I will spend 10 mins on the overlocker/serger, changing the thread colour to suit the garment, then test serging and adjusting the stitch tensions to suit the fabric. I have 4 cones of thread each in white, black, beige, grey, pink and pale blue and these threads will give a suitable finish on most fabric colours and prints. Then there is wooly overlocker thread, this is a fluffy thread that you can use for rolled hems as the thread relaxes once stitched and "fills" out the closely stitched edge covering the rolled fabric edge and is another whole area of fun to try out.

Often I'll just use a three thread to neaten the raw edges of a seam I will press open. Or I will assemble a whole knit garment using the four thread stitch, so much faster then stitching seams, then neatening. Jersey knits and sergers are made for each other.

As an aside the D on your machine model would denote "differential feed" too - briefly differential feed is adjusting the amount that the two feed dogs move under the foot and means you can "hold back" the fabric as it is stitched (0.5), or "stretch" it out (1.5 or 2 setting). Really handy for loose weave fabrics that stretch as you serge them, you can compensate using the differential feed setting. And in reverse, you can create a "lettuce" or wavy edge by turning the differential feed up.

I hope that this helps you out with your Brother 1034D and hasn't just confused you. Good luck.

I found that I had to remove the stitch finger to thread the machine properly. Do remember to re-install it before starting to sew. If you are using 3-threads only, then remove and store the stitch finger.
Puzzled that this instruction is not in the threading section of the manual.

i was able to find manual at www.ifixmachines.com

If you go on YouTube and key in Brother serger 1034d threading they show you all kinds of good stuff. How to thread it, how to use different feet and the different stitches you can make.

Couple of things I could think of: tension disks need cleaning, there is a site that tells how to clean them, maybe 2 as I recall. Other thing is it is a much older serger, (I have one I am slowly working on to bring up to working level), so it could be that a tension spring internally has lost its tension. It might need a trip to the repair man if that is the case. Another thing is are you using correct needles for the machine? Have you changed them recently? Even new needles can be bad, so if you have to change three times to triple check it can be worth it.